'KENSINGTON BURNING' - an outdoor exhibition highlighting the pivotal role of Sam Sharpe in prompting the granting of emancipation of slaves continues at the Montego Bay Civic Centre in St. James, following its official opening in mid-December.
The exhibition, mounted by the Institute of Jamaica (IOJ), speaks to the 1831 rebellion that resulted in the loss of 750 lives, but has been regarded as one that propelled the emancipation process, instigating slaves to fight for a well-deserved freedom. Timed to coincide with the historical date of the rebellion, the exhibition allows members of the public to interact with the last major rebellion in Jamaica prior to the emancipation of slavery.
Speaking at the opening, Stacy-Ann Duhaney, assistant curator at the IOJ's museums of history and ethnography saluted Samuel 'Daddy' Sharpe as "a visionary, a man of outstanding intellect, great oratorical skills and tremendous personal character."
EXECUTED
In providing details of the rebellion, Miss Duhaney stated that Sam Sharpe, upon hearing rumours that freedom had been granted by Britain, but was being withheld by the Planters, incited his fellowmen "to fight to the bitter end and drive the oppressors from these shores and establish a government in a free Jamaica." Sam Sharpe was later executed for his actions on the 23rd of May 1832, and in 1982 named a National Hero of Jamaica.
Curator of the exhibition, Lisa Williams, explained that the significance of the exhibition's title 'Kensington Burning' was as a result of the fact that Kensington Estates was the first to fall in the fiery sequence of events that formed part of the rebellion. The exhibition gives an overview of the life of Sam Sharpe. It examines the 19th century plantation society and the social and political conditions of 1831 where thousands of enslaved Africans laboured on plantations for a handful of European landowners and overseers.
Coincidentally, the Montego Bay Civic Centre was also home to the first Court house of Montego Bay, where 'Daddy' Sharpe was tried and sentenced to execution by hanging.
The 'Kensington Burning' exhibition is a collaborative effort of the Institute of Jamaica and the St. James Parish Council.
